Pragmatic bias impedes women’s access to political leadership

Christianne Corbett, Jan G. Voelkel, Marianne Cooper and Robb Willer
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Christianne Corbett: a Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;
Jan G. Voelkel: a Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;
Marianne Cooper: b VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
Robb Willer: a Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022, vol. 119, issue 6, e2112616119

Abstract: Women remain underrepresented in political leadership in the United States and beyond. While abundant research has studied the possible impact of gender stereotypes on support for women candidates, our research finds that voters also withhold support for women candidates because they perceive practical barriers to women successfully attaining political leadership positions. We find that providing Democratic primary voters with evidence that women earn as much electoral support as men in US general elections increased intentions to vote for women candidates. Our results suggest that women face complex barriers that prevent gender equity in politics, and these barriers can be reduced when voters believe that Americans not only want but also will take action to support women candidates.

Keywords: gender inequality; leadership; politics; bias; social change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nas:journl:v:119:y:2022:p:e2112616119

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